Mazda may be known for "Zoom-Zoom", but the company's midsize sedan offering has never been a big sales success in the U.S. market. However, Mazda is looking to make its Mazda6 a credible player in a market dominated by the Camry/Accord/Altima/Fusion/Sonata.

The first key to catching the attention from buyers is with its more dramatic styling. While the midsize sedan category is known for its boring designs, entries like the 2011 Hyundai Sonata and 2011 Kia Optima showed that you don't have to be stuck driving a boring box. More recently, Ford wowed customers with its Aston Martin-esque 2013 Fusion. The Mazda6 too brings its own design flair to the segment with eye-catching curves and creases. The huge grille may not be for everyone, but it seems to "work" on the Mazda6.

Mazda is also looking to attract buyers with its thrifty 2.5-liter Skyactiv four-cylinder engine. Rated at 184hp and 185 lb-ft of torque, the engine definitely won't make the Mazda6 a road rocket by any means, but it should have no trouble getting out of its own way. More importantly, however, the engine is rated a 25 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway (29 mpg combined) with a 6-speed manual transmission (yay for manuals). However, if you step up to the 6-speed automatic, the numbers jump to an even more impressive 26 mpg city and 38 mpg highway (30 mpg combined).

And Mazda will also take a page from Volkswagen's playbook during the second half of 2013: it will offer a diesel engine in the Mazda6. The 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D will find its way to the Mazda6, offering up an alternative to the hybrid powertrains that are typically made available in this vehicle class. There is no word yet on what the EPA numbers will be for the diesel, but rest assured that they will likely surpass the already impressive numbers available for the gasoline version of the Mazda6.

Many of the gas cars allow E85 Ethanol though we can't get it where I live.

You have to watch out for the biodiesel. It thickens like molasses in the winter and is absolute sludge at -20C. You would need some kind of heater to keep it liquid enough to push through your injectors.